Certified Blogaholic

This is one of the luckiest days I have had for a very long time.  After 6 months of blogging, fortune finally smiled on me and granted the blog a PR3.  I am currently scrambling to get as much opportunities as I can. This comes with a prayer that I get to keep my PR3 forever.

I have been grumbling for the past few days and I was really down.  It has gotten so bad that I have taken it out on people who have helped and supported me for so long now. With some soul-searching last night, I woke up apologetic for the way I have been acting the past few days.  At that point, I was prepared to take any punishment because I felt I deserved it.  Despite the way I have acted, I was forgiven.  And to top it all off, I got what I have almost given up on.

Before this streak of luck, I already outlined all my options to be able to move forward.  I swore I would try hard to stay happy and content with what I have.  Of course, I thought of all the opportunities I can take to improve my life.  I have been looking around for a good business idea for a while.  I finally came up with one that I believe would be a good start.  I sent an email to those I needed to deal with and hope that I will get a favorable response soon.

Maybe I can get a good night sleep finally after several days of shallow rest and constantly worrying about so many things.  Life is actually good.  You just need to know which direction to look.

Some girls are not into sports too much. Unlike those who frequent spas or beauty parlors, I enjoy sports. I play badminton, volleyball, and enjoy a swimming workout. One thing that I also enjoy watching are boxing matches. One of the most awaited matches coming soon is the De La Hoya versus Mayweather bout. At stake is Mayweather’s WBC Welterweight Championship. This is a rematch following the exciting fight between the two boxing champs last May 7, 2007. It was one of the most lucrative boxing matches ever with over $120 million generated revenue. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. won by a split decision over Oscar de la Hoya in 12 rounds, capturing the WBC Light Middleweight title.

On September 20, 2008, the world awaits the rematch between two talented boxers. Unlike the previous match, it will be contracted for 147 lbs. or the welterweight limit. The first fight was contracted at light middleweight or 154 lbs. Before this highly-anticipated fight, De la Hoya is scheduled to fight Stephen Forbes as a tune-up on May 3, 2008. Just a bit of trivia for everyone, De la Hoya’s trainer for the tune-up fight is Floyd Mayweather, Sr. — Floyd, Jr’s father.

For boxing fans out there, now is a good time to get your Mayweather vs De La Hoya tickets reserved. Waiting for the last minute may find you crawling or begging all over for your tickets. The real thing is no match for Pay-Per-View. I’m partial to De la Hoya and I’m betting that he can’t wait to get revenge for the split decision win of Mayweather in May 2007.

I recently stumbled upon an ITIL training blog in blogspot. The blog deals with several issues on information technology. Some posts were beyond my miniscule knowledge in technology. However, the blogger’s post on customer support was something I could relate to. The blogger recounts his horrendous journey to get his wireless broadband account working. It is one of the reasons customer support is essential to services involved in technology. Bad customer support can lead to a frustrating and futile attempts to get the best out of a good piece of equipment or service.

For a wireless broadband account, not only is the wireless carrier important, the telephone carrier is also crucial to get good service. As the blogger recounts his experience, he explains how the service of both the wireless carrier and the telephone company were both inept in resolving his problem. In the end, he had to make a formal correspondence to authorities working for the broadband carrier via snail mail just to air his discontent.

One good advice for those trying to secure high tech equipment or services, get feedback on its customer support. It will save you a lot of trouble if you do your research before diving in and getting a contract.

I read and heard so many horror stories in my lifetime. At the moment, none of them compare to the horror that Elisabeth Fritzl went through as her father imprisons her for 24 years in a windowless cellar in Amstetten, Austria. The 73-year old Josef Fritzl admitted to holding her daughter hostage for 24 years in a basement under the house and sexually abusing her. The basement, running under the entire house structure and the garden, was constructed by Fritzl himself complete with rooms, kitchen, and a bathroom. The entrance was hidden behind cupboards in the cellar and controlled by a keyless-entry system.

Elisabeth, now 42 years old, narrated that her father started abusing her since she was 11 years old. When she was 18, her father lured her into the basement, drugged her, and kept her hostage for 24 years. Her disappearance was explained by her father saying that she had run away. This was supported by letters that he had forced her to write. She was constantly raped by her father which led to the birth of 7 children. Three of her children, Kerstin (19), Stefan (18), and Felix (5), never saw daylight in their lifetime as they were kept hostage together with their mother. The other three were taken by Josef upstairs and told his wife that his missing daughter left them on the doorstep.

Things started to unravel when Kerstin fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital by her grandfather with a hidden SOS note from her mother on her. Authorities carried out a DNA test and discovered that her grandfather had indeed fathered her. When police issued a bulletin in attempts to locate the missing mother, Josef produced Elisabeth and told his wife that she returned to see her daughter. Everything came out in the open when Elisabeth was brought to the hospital and interviewed by the police.

Business continues to evolve globally at a dynamic pace. As new systems and programs are developed and implemented, the need to go further continues to be the goal of every growing enterprise. The company I work for has implemented different performance programs through the years using internal and external resources to achieve its vision and goals consistently. The company utilizes outsourcing for programs that are more complex and require more expertise. These proved more successful because of the objectivity inherent in the development of the programs by third party consultants.

One of the world-class consultants that provide business solutions to various organizations is Smarter Solutions, Incorporated. With several years of Lean Six Sigma experience under their belt, they have now developed the Integrated Enterprise Excellence (IEE). The IEE was opined as the most complete and effective operational management system available. It is a system that takes Lean Six Sigma and the Balance Scorecard into a new level. It is a process that allows the accurate prediction of financial results, meet growth targets, maximize cashflow, encourage innovation, meet customer requirements, improve employee performance, and anticipate changes that can have a material impact on the organization.

Although Smarter Solutions has developed expertise in the IEE Methodology, they likewise provide other training programs that aim to improve operational performance such as the Six Sigma Black Belt Training, the Lean Six Sigma Graduate Workshop, the Champion Monitoring, and many others. There is no question that if a company intends to go beyond Lean Six Sigma and Balanced Scorecard, the best option is Smarter Solutions.

Probably one of the hottest and most sought-after actress for the past 5 years is Scarlett Johansson. Following her work on the critically-acclaimed “Lost in Translation”, she has never looked back. The 23-year old actress is currently filming “New York I Love You” after completing “He’s Just Not That Into You” which is now in post production. Her most recent success includes “The Prestige”, “The Nanny Diaries”, and “The Other Boleyn Girl.”

Now, the voluptuous actress has unfolded another unexpected talent. The video premiere of her first single, Falling Down, was recently released. The song is part of her debut album “Anywhere I Lay My Head”, where she sings 10 Tom Waits cover and 1 original song.

I really wanted to avoid giving music reviews in the blog because I feel it’s not my niche. However, I really have no idea what to say about Scarlett’s voice. When I listened to the song the first time, I kept waiting for the part where she sings, only to find out that’s how the entire song goes. I always try to remember that in life, individual choices should never be questioned. People’s taste are almost as diverse as culture and values. Well, this song is not for me. And I prefer seeing Scarlett on the screen than listening to her sing. But then again, maybe it’s not her. Maybe the song just doesn’t suit her voice. For now, I will limit my opinion to this song and her rendition. I will reserve judgment until I hear all the songs in the album.

 

Breathing exercises are an integral part of yoga practice. Proper breathing is essential to perform most of the yoga poses or asanas. A yoga session starts out with breathing exercises to calm the body and the mind. In yoga, the first thing that practitioners are taught is proper breathing. We were taught to breath the same way an innocent baby breathes — inhale deeply and expand your stomach, exhale slowly which should contract the stomach. As we progress, you will note that some poses are similar to what we usually see babies and children do — proof that some yoga poses were intrinsically known by the human body to be beneficial to its well being. While the body ages and we begin to experience stress, we forget that instinctive exercise and develop other habits that become less beneficial to us.

We usually start out with the 3-part breath (Dirga Pranayama) where the exercises teach the filling and emptying of the lungs. This is followed by the Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Sodhana). In Nadi Sodhana, the nostrils are alternately closed off from air, allowing only the other nostril to inhale and exhale. This brings balance by clearing the energy channels on both sides of the body and is known to be beneficial for those suffering from different forms of allergies such as asthma. As a matter of fact, apart from my scoliosis, it is my asthma that I look to find relief for by doing regular yoga exercises.

Once you have mastered the art of breathing with yoga, you will find that proper breathing will become a habit and will help in minimizing stress levels. There are other more complicated breathing exercises that I have not mastered such as the Ocean Breath and the Skull Shining Breath. These will require more guidance from a yoga teacher since they may sometimes cause you to become lightheaded if done incorrectly. Both these exercises provide benefits for respiratory ailments and give the lungs more strength.

My next yoga post will now focus on asanas and their benefits. Watch out for it.

My blog is barely a year old and I am still trying to get as much readers as I can. I’ve read through all the tips to increase traffic. But the page rank slapping that Google has been giving to paid blogging has made it difficult to determine how the blog is doing in terms of traffic. It has been a blessing that Izea has created RealRank and SocialSpark. Now, I have a better chance of determining the blog’s progress.

Now, instead of focusing on page rank, I am determined to improve my RealRank. It is still low, but it is moving forward slowly. I have gained new friends from SocialSpark and will continue to make more. This will definitely improve the blog’s exposure. Then I discovered Zookoda which was one of the best tools that could help me get more readers. Zookoda enables the blogger to promote the blog with professional email notices informing readers when there is a new post. It is not meant to replace blog feeds but instead provides them with an alternative. Moreover, it will manage your email subscriptions by handling validation and verification. Zookoda also offers real time reports to keep the blogger informed about emails and visitor habits. It also manages all unsubscribes and keeps track of them in the mailing list.

Can you believe that the service is free? Yes, all functions within Zookoda are free! And I thought things were starting to look better. I was wrong — things are as perfect as it can be.

I started of with a brief description on yoga in my previous post. Every now and then, I will post information on yoga touching on specific topics of the practice. For now, I will cover the basics and start with the specific benefits that practicing yoga can provide. Yoga provides both physical and mental benefits that improves the overall health of those who practice it on a regular basis.

The physical benefits of yoga includes flexibility, strength, improved posture, and better blood circulation. The stretching exercises gives specific muscles and joints flexibility which further leads to toned muscles and better posture. Balancing poses, on the other hand, gives strength to legs and arms. The push-ups also gives strength to the upper body. Better blood circulation is one of the major benefits of yoga. This translates to improved brain function and better immunity. Toxins are likewise efficiently flushed out which keeps the liver, kidneys, and other organs healthy.

Meanwhile, the physical activities of yoga combined with the breathing and balancing poses provides stress reduction, mental calmness, improved focus, and body awareness. Regular yoga practice will make you aware of which parts of the body is stronger, which ones are weaker, and which parts of the body improves alignment and balance.

Specifically, yoga has been known to help people with allergies, asthma, back pains, migraines, and even heart problems. There is also prenatal yoga which helps pregnant women with the discomforts that come with having a baby. Pregnant women who practice yoga during their pregnancy are also known to have easy labor and delivery. Some even claim that labor and delivery were virtually pain-free.

For me, the best benefit I get from yoga is the improvement of my scoliosis. My allergy attacks has been minimal also since I started yoga. I will start researching a little more to help with some of my other health problems. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and I believe there are exercises that can help with insomnia. Watch out for the rest of my yoga series.

Before I am officially called a senior citizen, my dream is to be able to tour Europe and visit all the amazing sites I can only see in the movies. I’d like to see Paris, Rome, and Budapest. They say you have not lived if you haven’t seen the Eiffel Tower or St. Peter’s Basilica.

I do envy those who have had the chance to visit all the glory of Europe. The only reason I have not been able to do it myself is because of the hefty price the tour carries. If you are saving up or making the most out of your vacation, it is best that you do a little research and plan your trip ahead of time. For those planning to visit Budapest, Budapest apartments can be be easily reserved online. ApartmentsinBudapest.com has all the tools that can help you choose the best location that will suit your needs. They own several apartments which gives them the liberty to provide the best prices on your accommodation. They also get bulk discounts from other apartments so they can guarantee the lowest price on your accommodation regardless of which one will fit your taste. All the information that you need to decide is available on the site such as amenities, flights, and even car rentals.

Plan ahead before going on your trip. Your perfect vacation to Budapest is only a few clicks away.

A week after letting the sun touch my skin for hours in Alona Beach, I am now on my way to my dermatologist to make sure I did not do too much damage.  I now sport a mild tan that clearly implies I have been out on vacation on the beach. I’d like to keep it that way for another week or two.  But soon I want to get back the fair glow I have worked so hard to maintain.

As ordered by my doctor, I put on loads of sunblock during my vacation.  After soaking in the sun, I should have enough moisturizers to lavish on my skin after a bath or a shower.  This means no sunburns, a good tan, and skin that remains soft and supple.  My doctor also recommends taking oral sunblocks such as Heliocare together with fluid intake.  Unfortunately, the season has made this supplement scarce.  My friends and I could not get any supply no matter how hard we tried.

Now, I am scheduled for my regular diamond peel that will scrub away the dead skin cells I have accumulated since my last peel.  I am hoping the doctor will not diagnose any sun damage.  I don’t want to leave the doctor’s office with loads of new creams or medicine on my bag with my wallet almost empty.

In about two years, I am planning to go on retirement and start my own business. By that time, I think I will have enough to be able to do it on my own. For the past years, I have already been looking around and brainstorming on what I would go into. Since I am a bit of a shopaholic, I am leaning towards the retail business. It is a bit daunting considering the bigwigs that I have to compete with. But then again, all you need is a niche, a good location, and good prices.

For small entrepreneurs, there are certainly opportunities around to help them compete with the bigger guys. This is where DollarDays.com can become a small retailer’s best friend. DollarDays is one of the top online wholesalers and closeout companies that offer wholesale products to small businesses at bulk prices. They provide high quality goods such as school supplies, apparel, cosmetics, accessories, electronics, and many more. Their prices are so cheap that even a small retailer can compete with bigger stores.

If you’re looking to start your own store or you already have a small one in your area, check out DollarDays and get the chance to have customers pour into your store with amazing prices and discounts that you can offer.

 

I have been on a diet for the third week now.  I know I wasn’t going to make my target for our summer outing last week but I was aiming for next year’s summer outing.  I have a lot of extra fats to lose, so I think one year is the ideal time frame to do it.  Doing it too fast would be detrimental to my health, especially my skin — no stretchmarks please!

It has been frustrating trying to look for a cool swimwear before our summer outing. When I went out with my friends, I saw all these great looking two-piece suits that I knew I would never have the guts to wear at the moment with the extra flab I have gained throughout the years.  Why were these not in fashion when I was only 96 pounds?!  This frustration now makes me determined to work on an ideal weight that would give me the license to wear a two-piece suit next year.  Do you think I will make it?  The funny guy in my life laughs at me when I told him what I was aiming for.  I swore to him I would get the last laugh.  I have lost about 6 pounds since I started.  It’s not bad considering that I am aiming for a gradual decline.  I have to work on a program that would not slow down my metabolism.  That meant still eating enough but with less fat and carbo.  I don’t want to totally get off carbo since that could be disastrous for my skin.  At the moment, my skin is the only thing I am grateful for.  If I lose that together with my weight, I might end up looking 10 years older.  So, it’s slow but steady for me.

Wish me luck.  A year from now, I know I can fit into those skimpy swimwear that sexy ladies are flaunting around.

After months of blogging and making decent money from it, it has now become a way of life for me. Even my 3 boys help me watch out for campaigns or opportunities if I have to be away for a while. They also give me ideas for topics on my blog. I admit it hasn’t been easy when I started. Finding topics to write about while my youngest baby asks me for help with his Xbox 360 games was a bit difficult. It was also frustrating waiting endlessly for opportunities for a blog with no Page Rank. When they do come, the pay was so minimal compared to the other opportunities given to those with higher page ranks. In time, I learned to take it with a grain of salt. Minimal income is still income nonetheless. I was confident something will happen to turn everything around soon.

I believe my wait is finally over. Izea’s long-awaited SocialSpark launched its beta phase. I registered my blog immediately. The system was a little more complex than PayPerPost but I was eager to start knowing that the Izea team worked hard on the new system that improves on all the chinks that PayPerPost had. Izea combined the features of a paid-to-blog model with a social network. Now, they have definitely created an authentic community of bloggers and advertisers coming together to widen further the horizons of the blogosphere. With SocialSpark, there are 2 ways to earn money from a blog. You can earn income by taking opportunities from advertisers and writing about them in your blog. Or you can earn through blog sponsorship. Blog sponsorship works for niche blogs that focus on specific categories such as technology, health, or entertainment. For this option, an advertiser can choose a blog that deals in his area of business to market his products or service. Aside from making money, a blog can also exchange posts with other blogs for free to improve traffic and increase followers.

More than the improvement on its features, SocialSpark is set apart from PayPerPost and other get-paid-to-blog models by its code of ethics. Under the code of ethics, bloggers are required to include a disclosure badge on the sponsored posts to make sure that readers know that the content is being paid for. This elicits trust from readers and avoids the appearance of impropriety. Second, every participant in SocialSpark is viewable by the public. The public is made aware of transactions between advertisers and bloggers to keep the community transparent and honest. Third, there are no restrictions on how a blogger wishes to write about the product or service, subject to an agreement with the advertiser. Thus, bloggers are encouraged to take opportunities that they believe represents the principles that the blog adheres to. Finally, each sponsored post now carries the “no follow” attribute to avoid penalties given by search engines. Almost all blogs doing sponsored post were penalized by search engines within the past year with a substantial reduction in page rank. It has been the major concern in the blogosphere for so long which Izea now has resolved. Moreover, SocialSpark now utilizes RealRank as a major criteria to segregate the opportunities that blogs are qualified to take.

I’m still learning as I go along. And I look forward to meeting new people and learning more from the community. I finally see a brighter future for my blog as Izea ignites a revolution in the blogosphere with SocialSpark.

I used to think that yoga practitioners were weird and silly. How could humming or executing difficult poses make you healthy? Absurd! I thought they were no different from acrobats performing in the circus. I never thought I would eventually munch, chew, and swallow my own words.

When I got the job as the assistant of the smartest executive in our company, I found myself working doubly hard and performing difficult tasks. After several years of doing the job, I was highly stressed, exhausted, and in bad health. My asthma worsened and I was always edgy. At a certain point, I knew I had to do something before I ended up with a nervous breakdown or an anxiety attack. I took up sports like badminton and spent more time going out with friends. Fortunately, yoga was fast becoming recognized as the best exercise for the body. After trying it, I have become a yoga enthusiast. It has become a part of my life. I do yoga twice a week and sometimes even on weekends when the opportunity arises.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning “to control”, “to yoke”, or “to unite” and originated in India as a group of ancient spiritual practices. Outside of India, it is known as the practice of “asanas” or postures and a form of exercise. In the modern world, it has evolved into a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation. It is also the best reliever of stress. And since studies reveal that most diseases and physical dysfunctions are rooted in stress, yoga has been known to heal numerous physical disorders.

Studies now confirm that yoga provides higher success rates of healing breast cancer, hypertension, heart disease, and back disorders. I practice Ashtanga Yoga, also known as the classical yoga, and it has definitely relieved me of back pains due to my scoliosis (curvature of the spine). Most of my friends even confirm that the angle of my scoliosis decreased. More than that, my asthma attacks are less frequent and my resistance to fatigue during badminton games has definitely improved.

The topic on yoga is quite vast and I am afraid I will not give it due justice trying to summarize everything in one post. Watch out for succeeding posts on the different types of yoga and the benefits each pose provides the body.